India’s Most Wanted (2019) Review!!

Synopsis – A group of intelligence officers embark on a top secret mission to track down a wanted international criminal.

My Take – Bollywood filmmakers have clearly found their new fixation – films inspired by true events and based on unsung heroes, mainly intelligence officials. This one is no different. Here, director Raj Kumar Gupta provides a fictionalized account of the process by which the Special Operations Group, Intelligence Bureau, in a joint operation with the Bihar Police, crossed the International border with Nepal and arrested Yasin Bhatkal, an Indian Mujahideen terrorist responsible for blasts in major Indian cities between 2008 and 2013. And the end result? Well, it’s mixed.

Sure, it is not one of the best espionage thrillers made in the India, but what’s impressive is it’s close to realistic approach. Here, director Gupta captures a very patriotic feel in a rather clear-cut style in this film. He manages to UN-romanticize the story which works in its favor and delivers a rather engaging story which would make any Indian proud and in awe of the real men who put their lives on the line to make sure they made their country a safer place.

However, by keeping the story firmly tethered to reality, he never allows it to soar, resulting in a bogged down screenplay, and an overall underwhelming experience despite a premise that is vastly intriguing. A cursory treatment of local or procedural minutiae with scant attention to details ends up blunting the edge off a sinister plot, considerably.

The story follows Prabhat (Arjun Kapoor), an inscrutable young intelligence officer who wants nothing but to serve his country. During a mission, Prabhat comes across a source (Jeetendra Shastri) who confirms that a notorious unnamed terror accused is indeed hiding in Nepal, which he wants his team to go and confirm. Unfortunately for him, the head office in Delhi are skeptical of carrying out such kind of mission due to the turbulent political atmosphere, and their firm belief that all terrorists are hiding in either Pakistan or Dubai, and hence refuse to sanction this trip.

However, Prabhat’s hunch makes him feel otherwise, convincing his colleagues Pillai (Prashanth Philip Alexander), Manish (Pravin Singh Sisodia), Javed (Devendra Mishra), and Bittu (Aasif Khan) to conduct the operation at their own expense, along with the blessing of their superior, Rajesh Singh (Rajesh Sharma), the motley five-member team enter the neighboring country with no weapons and minimum support.

But unknown to them, the terrorist in question is indeed Yusuf (Sudev Nair), who the Indian Intelligence community has nicknamed as ‘Ghost’ and ‘India’s Osama’, and has been responsible for executing various bomb blasts, and has been on Number 1 on India’s most wanted list for the past eight years.

This is a rare film on counter-terrorism which seems to show no inclination to overplay its cards, as director Rajkumar Gupta’s target here is to not show his hero indulging in scene-stealing heroics, but to put the protagonist, a docile humble unostentatious man who never smiles at the center of a patriot act, a man deeply affected by the acts of terror on the innocent citizens of his country.

In the past, writer-director Rajkumar Gupta has demonstrated his skill at giving the right thriller elements to a variety of films like Aamir, No One Killed Jessica and Raid, however, here, the film derives immense power out of its writer-director’s proclivity to keep the physicality of the actors as authentic as possible. The emotional quotient simply follows. The narrative begins in Patna and then moves with noisy fluidity into Nepal where the chase to hunt down the primeval terrorist is chronicled in graphic detail, one step at a time.

This is a film that is in no hurry to get to the end. Director Gupta knows we are living in a dangerous world where violence is a given. He treads with empathy and warmth into this world. The hunt for the terrorist in Nepal retains that element especially since the Pakistani side is also sharp and almost on to the team from India that’s operating under the radar. So there are a few anxious moments with the senior in Patna tense and having his bouts of doubts over the operation.

But also in the midst of the tension, the banter between brooding Prabhat and his senior officer gives humor a break which is neat and not overdone. There’s a girl who keeps sending come-hither text messages to Prabhat which also comes as comic relief once in a while. The backroom functioning in North Block Delhi also has a sprinkling of wit which cuts the tension.

Hence, the climactic payoff is not our reward for watching the film so intently. It is the fate of unsung heroes to indulge in their heroics when no one is watching. Thankfully, although the terrorist being hunted down by Prabhat is a Muslim, his religious identity is not over-emphasized to crudely cash in on the Islamophobia prevailing worldwide in the way recent Bollywood films like Blank, have done.

Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan also plays a part in the film, though incidentally. Apparently, a minor collateral damage from all these bomb blasts in India was to Khan’s US visits. He was constantly detained and questioned at immigration for many years, because ‘Shah Rukh’ was an alias used by Yasin Bhatkal. The film plays this piece of trivia to the hilt, and even has a brief audio recording of Khan’s amusing and self-deprecating response to the incident.

However, while the film aims at being an intelligence agency procedural rather than a globe-trotting action thriller, which is fine in theory since director Raj Kumar Gupta has demonstrated his natural affinity for the genre in last year’s excellent, Raid, however this film crumbles in its slow pace.

With little to no dramatization and the low-key portrayal of under-cover operations, the film is hardly an edge-of-the-seat thriller. And though there is enough room to heighten the dramatic tension, the writers have chosen to underplay important points, thus losing the audience’s interest. Sure, no one expected this to be an Uri, but certain aspects of the film’s story leave so much to be desired.

For instance, a local woman ISI operative in Nepal who runs an entire network features at a critical point in the film but it remains largely insignificant to the main story. Another missed plotting opportunity is the untapped story of the local police of Nepal getting involved in the chase.

There was room for heightening the dramatic tension, but the writers don’t explore those possibilities enough making the chase rather tedious at times. ISI is also portrayed predictably foolish. However, the film suffers the most in the absence of a powerful antagonist.

Before it is hammered in, the film has already been betrayed by its own seeming lack of faith in the tenor it has set for itself. In life-and-death scenarios towards the end, for instance, precious seconds and minutes are spent just staring down opponents in conventional Bollywood style. And the voice-over by the lead terrorist at regular intervals is just ineffective.

Nevertheless what the film has going for it is Arjun Kapoor‘s earnest performance. A usually understated actor, here, Kapoor is well utilized by director Gupta, who uses his bulking and deadpan expressions to the benefit of his character. In supporting roles, Rajesh Sharma leaves a mark with his act, and so do Aasif Khan, Pravin Singh Sisodia, Devendra Mishra, Prasanth Philip Alexander, Bajrangbali Singh and Jeetendra Shastri. Unfortunately, Sudev Nair, once again doesn’t get much scope to perform. On the whole, ‘India’s Most Wanted’ is an earnest thriller with taut performances let down by its underwhelming pacing issues.